Versatile vinegar can cure the bland-food blues

A splash of vinegar can save a dish from so-so blandness. Perky, but not pucker packed, just a spoonful is an easy cure for palate boredom. Insipid soup brightens when spiked with vinegar. A soupçon used to quickly deglaze a skillet is at the heart of a quick-to-prepare pan sauce. An onion marmalade condiment, its vinegar-sparked tartness balanced with just-right sweetness, adds flavor brightness to grains, burgers, cheeses or sandwiches.

During grilling, brushed-on balsamic adds definitive allure to lamb or pork chops. Off the heat, a final zigzag of balsamic is delectable on grilled vegetables, sliced strawberries or roast chicken.

Cooks must be catching on to vinegar’s versatility. The vinegar section at my local supermarket seems to get bigger and bigger. The balsamic vinegars, both traditional mahogany-hued and the white varieties, snuggle next to white- and red-wine vinegars. Larger bottles of cider vinegar, sherry vinegar and fruit-infused vinegars compete for shelf space, their slender bottlenecks stretching above the smaller bottles.

Vinegars add spark to marinades and dressings. But their versatility doesn’t end there.

Deglazing

When making quick sauces, use vinegar to deglaze the pan. That means that after food (usually meat, poultry or fish) is sautéed and excess fat is removed from the skillet, add vinegar, or a combination either of vinegar and broth or vinegar and wine. Stir the liquid over heat to loosen the browned bits at the bottom and sides of the skillet. Cook it until it thickens slightly. The resulting mixture becomes the sauce to accompany the sautéed food. Easy.

Rubs and Baths

Make vinegar-herb rubs for roasts before grilling, roasting or braising. Make rub with 1/4 cup minced rosemary, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons coarsely ground pepper, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon coarse little salt. Rub the mixture on a large pork loin or beef tri-tip before roasting or grilling. Or rub the mixture on pot roast just before cooking.

Give some oomph to dessert; add a splash of balsamic vinegar to sliced strawberries. Or make a spiced strawberry sorbet by adding balsamic vinegar to the simple sugar syrup that is used to make the sorbet mixture; freeze it according to your ice-cream machine’s directions.

Tart Ingredients

Vinegar-spiked ingredients, such as capers and marinated artichoke hearts, add appealing attitude to pasta dishes. A meatless tomato sauce livens up when olives, capers and artichokes come to the party. I am so fond of the zing that capers bring that I put them in the sauce and also provide a small bowlful on the table to use as an additional topping.

Salad Garnishes

Using a generous topping made with tart-vinaigrette tossed with assertive greens (such a baby spinach or baby arugula) enlivens dishes both in how they look and how they taste. Salmon patties are a good example. They are delicious on their own, but topped with arugula tumbled with a vinegar-rich dressing, the concoction becomes addictive. The acidity of the vinegar makes the fish taste sweet.